How do I register a company in Cyprus?

How do I get a company name approved in Cyprus?

Apply to the Registrar of Companies for approval of your proposed name, using the name approval form and paying €10 for each name, or €30 if you want the examination accelerated. Search the business entities register first: the Registrar refuses a name that is too similar to an existing entity, or that is misleading or undesirable, and it also refuses names that trade on an international brand not registered in Cyprus. A private company name must end in LTD, LIMITED or the Greek equivalent. Restricted words need the consent of the relevant authority. Once approved, the name is reserved for six months, and the incorporation application must be filed within that window.

What documents do I need to register a company in Cyprus?

Four documents make up the filing under the Companies Law, Cap. 113. Form HE1 is the statutory declaration of compliance, and under Article 15(2) of Cap. 113 it may be sworn either by the practising advocate who undertook the formation or by a person named in the articles as a director or secretary. Form HE2 notifies the registered office address, which must be written in Greek. Form HE3 gives the details of the first directors and the secretary. With them go the Memorandum and Articles of Association, signed in Greek by each subscriber, by a witness to their signatures and by the lawyer who drew them up. A public company also files form HE5, the directors' consent to act, with an extra €20.

What are the minimum requirements for a Cyprus company?

A private company limited by shares needs at least one director, exactly one secretary, at least one shareholder and a registered office inside the Republic of Cyprus. Directors and the secretary must be eighteen or over. Where a private company has a single member and a single director, that director may also act as secretary. Membership is capped at fifty. The registered office cannot be a mailbox: it is where the Registrar's notices are served and where the statutory registers are kept, and any change is notified on form HE2 within fourteen days. There is no minimum share capital for a private company. A public company needs two directors, seven members and €25,629 offered for subscription.

How do I file the application and what does the Registrar charge?

You can file through the Registrar's e-filing system or by hand or post. The Registrar's fee is €165, or €235 for a company with no share capital, with a further €100 to accelerate the registration. Certified copies of the incorporation certificates cost €120 if you attach a copy of the Memorandum and Articles, or €130 if you do not, and a file of translations adds €160. Since 1 January 2026 documents filed with the Registrar no longer attract stamp duty, following the repeal of the Stamp Duties Laws by Law 239(I)/2025. Those are Registrar charges only; professional fees are covered in our company formation cost breakdown.

How long does it take and when do I get the Certificate of Incorporation?

The Registrar does not publish a guaranteed processing time for either name approval or incorporation, so treat any fixed day count you read elsewhere as an estimate. What is official is the two acceleration options: €20 extra per name to speed up the name examination, and €100 extra to speed up the registration itself. Once satisfied that Cap. 113 has been complied with, the Registrar publishes the registration in the Official Gazette and issues the Certificate of Incorporation, which carries the company registration number and marks the start of the company's legal existence. Electronically issued certificates can be checked for authenticity for ninety days from issue.

Can a non-resident own 100% of a Cyprus company?

Yes. The Companies Law, Cap. 113 sets conditions on the age and number of directors, secretary and members, not on their nationality or residence, so a non-resident can hold all the shares and be the sole director. The only compulsory Cyprus connection is the registered office address notified on form HE2, which must be a real address in the Republic. You do not need to travel: the subscribers sign the Memorandum and Articles before a witness, and the advocate swears form HE1 before the court and files everything through e-filing. Where the company is tax resident is a separate question, decided by management and control, not by registration.

What do I have to do after the company is registered?

Four registrations follow incorporation. Apply to the Tax Department for taxpayer registration and a tax number within sixty days of incorporation. Register for VAT if taxable supplies exceeded €15,600 over the last twelve consecutive months, or will exceed it in the next thirty days. Register with the Social Insurance Services before you employ anyone; the social insurance number is usually issued within one to two weeks. File your beneficial owners electronically on the Beneficial Ownership Register no later than ninety days from incorporation, then within forty-five days of any change, and confirm the details every year between 1 October and 31 December. Non-compliance carries €100 plus €50 per day, up to €5,000.

What are the annual obligations once the company exists?

The €350 annual levy no longer applies. Article 391 of Cap. 113 was deleted by the Companies (Amendment) (No. 2) Law 25(I)/2024, in force from 1 January 2024, although levies for the years 2011 to 2023 remain payable. What does apply is the annual return on form HE32, first drawn up the day after eighteen months from incorporation and filed within twenty-eight days of that date, with a €20 fee. Late filing costs €50 on the first day plus €1 a day, capped at €150. Financial statements are prepared under IFRS, laid before the general meeting and filed with the return.